Understanding Identity Through Media: Reflections on Identity and Digital Communication by Rob Cover

Recently, I’ve been watching a lot of reality television due to my attention span being short and reality television has become my go to form of background entertainment that is easy to consume. However, beyond its surface-level drama and bad acting. I have realized that reality T.V can also act as a lens into the current anthropological state of society. It reflects how people communicate, form identity and authenticity in a digital age. Before taking an anthropology course on media I never truly recognized the depth this type of content holds over our culture and social lives. Through several other media related classes my understanding of how media operates has evolved. It’s no longer just entertainment, it’s a mirror for how it impacts our identity. 

Introduction

As a Media Studies student this awareness has deeply affected how I engage with content. It’s difficult now to simply watch or scroll without analyzing what I’m consuming. Media analysis has become a part of my daily thought process, even my identity. Rob Cover’s book Identity and Digital Communication confirmed many of my observations about how media shapes selfhood while also challenging me to think about the deeper relationships between digital communication, technology, and identity. Reading his work expanded my understanding of media as not just a cultural product but as a social force that continuously influences who we are and how we interact with others. 

Who is Rob Cover?

Rob Cover is a social theorist and media scholar whose research focuses on digital harms, youth well-being and gender and sexuality diversity within media context (Wikipedia Contributors, 2025). His book Identity and Digital Communication explores how identity and technology intersect in modern life (Rob Cover, 2015). Cover’s work helps readers understand that technology is not just a neutral tool but a space where identity is reconstructed. Through his ethnographic approach Cover examines the social process behind digital behavior, looking beyond the surface-level assumptions about media addiction or influence. Instead he explores the deeper questions of how our engagement with media platforms both express and transform our sense of self. 

Analysis of Identity and Digital Communication

In the introduction, Cover states that ’’Much of our everyday lives involves having to undertake activities that relate to a sense of self-identity’’ (Cover, 2023, p. 1). As a full-time student I find this statement relatable. Every decision I make whether it’s starting a new hobby, applying for a job, or planning a trip must be considered in relation to my identity as a student. This role defines not only my schedule but also how I perceive myself and how others perceive me. Cover’s point illustrates how identity is not fixed but constantly constructed through the decisions we make within the social systems we inhabit. Media and digital communication now play a major role in this construction.

Cover identifies three core principles of identity: that “true identity” does not exist, that identity is always changing, and that identity is at the center of our everyday lives(Cover, 2023, p. 2) . To illustrate this, he references the 2020 attempt to ban TikTok in the United States, a moment that reemerged again when Donald Trump, reelected in 2025 (Cover, 2023, p. 155) . Although the ban lasted only about seventy-two hours, it sparked widespread panic and discussion online (Restrictions on Tiktok in the United States, 2023) . Many creators shared intimate details about their lives or broke down publicly over losing their platforms. Watching these reactions unfold was interesting but also deeply telling. For many influencers, TikTok had become intertwined with their sense of purpose, income, and identity. Losing access to the app felt like losing a part of themselves.

This situation perfectly demonstrates Cover’s argument that digital communication platforms shape our sense of self. Our identities are now closely tied to the spaces where we share, express and validate them. When a platform like TikTok disappears, it doesn’t just disrupt communication but it disrupts people’s identities. Creators had to confront who they were without their audience, their algorithmic visibility, or their digital communities. This example shows how identity in the digital age is not just expressed online but built through constant interaction with these technologies.

Is Media really addictive or are we the problem?

The debate over whether media is “good” or “bad” for society often oversimplifies this complexity. As a Media Studies student, I tend to view media positively, not because it’s inherently good, but because it is an essential part of human communication and creativity. However, it’s undeniable that certain design choices, like algorithmic targeting or endless scrolling, can encourage compulsive behaviors. Cover writes that this is achieved through “persistent adjustments… ensuring the ‘right’ advertisements are going to the ‘right’ user based on identity assumptions gathered from viewing habits” (p. 143). He clarifies that technology itself is not addictive. Instead, “compulsive behaviors in relation to digital technologies” are the result of broader social processes and learned behaviors. In other words, it’s not the phone or app that creates addiction, but how society, culture, and individuals use and integrate it into their lives.

This distinction reframes the entire “addiction” narrative around technology. Instead of blaming devices, we must examine our relationship with them. Why do we turn to our phones when we’re anxious or bored? Why does validation through likes or views feel so rewarding? These habits reflect social and emotional processes tied to identity formation. For media students, this raises an even more difficult question: how can we analyze and engage with media critically without letting it consume or define who we are?

This idea connects directly to our class discussions on evocative objects. Sherry Turkle argues that “objects help us make our minds, reaching out to us to form active partnerships” ((2011, Turkle, p. 2). We form emotional and psychological attachments to the media and technologies we use every day. Cover expands on this by showing how social norms and bodily behaviors emerge around these digital objects. For example, he notes that touching someone else’s phone is considered an invasion of privacy or a “breach” that provokes discomfort or even fear (Cover, 2023, p. 68). This small social boundary reveals how deeply personal our digital devices have become. They are not just tools but extensions of our identities.

These bodily and emotional responses illustrate how media objects evoke specific feelings that shape social interaction. The same principle applies to our digital relationships: following a classmate on social media can create an unspoken expectation to engage with their posts, transforming a casual acquaintance into a performative connection. Over time, these micro habits shape not only our emotions and feelings but also our identities. The media we consume and the norms we internalize become intertwined with who we believe ourselves to be.

Individual Reflection?

Reading Identity and Digital Communication has made me more aware of these subtle dynamics. It has pushed me to examine my own behaviors and my dependence on digital communication for social validation. While Cover doesn’t offer a direct solution for how to detach from these patterns, his analysis encourages reflection. He reminds us that technology is not inherently harmful; rather, it is the meanings and attachments we create that make it feel inescapable.

In the context of studying media, this realization is both challenging and liberating. It’s challenging because it means that detaching from the media is nearly impossible when it forms the foundation of our academic and personal lives. But it’s liberating because it shifts the focus from guilt and self-blame to awareness and understanding. Instead of rejecting technology, we can aim to use it with intention and recognize how it shapes us while still maintaining agency over how we engage with it.

Overall, Cover’s book invites media students, scholars, and everyday users to ask more critical questions: How do our digital practices shape our sense of self? What emotional and social patterns are reinforced through our use of technology? And most importantly, how can we engage with digital communication responsibly without losing sight of who we are outside of it?

Conclusion

This analysis has made me more mindful of my own identity as both a media consumer and creator. It has also deepened my understanding of the complex relationship between media and identity. The media we engage with does more than entertain and it structures how we think, feel, and exist. Identity and Digital Communication encourages us to confront these realities, not with fear, but with curiosity and critical awareness. As Media Studies students, our challenge is not to separate ourselves from the media, but to engage with it consciously and recognize that understanding media ultimately means understanding ourselves.

Bibliography

Sources: 

Rob Cover. (2015). Rmit.edu.au. https://www.rmit.edu.au/profiles/c/rob-cover

Wikipedia Contributors. (2025, May 27). Rob cover. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Cover

Restrictions on tiktok in the united states. (2023, April 25). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restrictions_on_TikTok_in_the_United_States

Cover, R. (2023, January 1). Identity and digital communication : Concepts, theories, practices. Routledge. https://go.exlibris.link/8tBDJxXSTurkle, S. (2007). WHAT MAKES AN OBJECT EVOCATIVE? In S. Turkle (Ed.), Evocative Objects: Things We Think With (pp. 307–327). The MIT Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5hhg8p.39

Images:

(2025b). Pexels.com. https://images.pexels.com/photos/267350/pexels-photo-267350.jpeg